Episode Summary:
Maxine Sherrin is the Program Director of Spark Festival, a not-for-profit festival that aims to grow entrepreneurship in Australia by bringing together people from all corners of the startup world: founders, investors, small/medium enterprises, big corporates and policy makers. Before taking her current role, Maxine co-founded Web Directions in 2004, Australia’s first event for web designers and developers. In her conversation with Adam, Maxine discusses the importance of building and growing a community that celebrates and supports Australian founders and innovators.
Chapters:
00:00 Introduction to Day One Podcast
00:29 Meet Maxine Sherrin
00:53 Overview of Spark Festival
01:41 Why Maxine Does It
02:19 Maxine's Introduction to the Startup World
03:23 Early Involvement with Startups
04:35 Birth of Spark Festival
05:05 History of Sid Start
06:03 Early Days of the Startup Ecosystem
08:04 Awareness of the Startup Community in 2012
09:12 Differences Between Silicon Valley and Australia
10:06 Concept of the Aussie Mafia
10:49 Gaps in the Australian Startup Ecosystem
12:13 Strengths of the Community
12:59 Future Improvements for the Ecosystem
13:58 Vision for Spark Festival
15:35 Role of Festivals in the Ecosystem
17:02 Advice for New Founders
17:50 Defining a Startup Ecosystem
18:44 Final Thoughts for the Community
